Academy Celebrates Class 135

Class 135 graduated from the Walters State Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy on March 13.

Class 135 Completed Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy

           Members of Class 135 of the Walters State Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy were honored during a graduation ceremony held on March. 13. 
           The commencement speaker was Officer Michael Collazo of the Metro Nashville Police Department. He was one of two officers who engaged and killed an active shooter at Covenant School in 2023. The shooter killed three students and three faculty members before being shot.
           Collazo and four other officers were presented the Presidential Medal of Valor by President Joe Biden for their actions. Collazo shared the events of that day with graduates.
           “That morning started off just like every other morning,” he said. “Once we heard the call that there was an active shooter in a school, everything changed. Time stopped for us and every second became critical.”
           “Everyone in our local area responded. My team was just the first ones on scene. You could feel the darkness. When we heard gunfire, we knew we had to move faster. In no time, we located the individual. We eliminated the thread and the danger was over, but the damage had been done. Six innocent individuals had their lives taken that morning,” Collazo said.    
           Collazo encouraged cadets to always be ready, take care of themselves physically and emotionally, and to lean on their fellow officers.
           “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to act in the face of fear,” Collazo said. 
           Class 135 was comprised of 46 cadets.
           Based at the college’s Niswonger Campus in Greeneville, the academy is an intensive nine-week course, providing over 500 hours of training. Upon completion, students are awarded the technical certificate in Basic Law Enforcement Officer Education. Once employed by a law enforcement agency, graduates are eligible to apply for certification by the Police Officers Standards and Training Commission as a certified peace officer in the state of Tennessee.
           Awards were given to outstanding students.

• Academic Award: Stefan Shively, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office.
• Defensive Tactics Award: Daniel Cesarz, Mt. Carmel Police Department.
• J.R. Ensor Firearms Award: Stefan Shively, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office.
• Charles Edward Baskette Memorial Award for Courage and Determination: Karolyn Nuhn, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.
• Best Athlete: Tristan Leopold, Goodlettsville Police Department. 
• Defensive and Tactical Driving: Nathaniel Elliott, Clarksville Police Department.
• Commissioner David Purkey Leadership Award: Daniel Cesarz, Mt. Carmel Police Department.
• Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police Award: Daniel Cesarz, Mt. Carmel Police Department.
• Tennessee Sheriff’s Association: Stefan Shively, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office.
• Walters State Student Award: Kendale Ball, Cocke County Sheriff’s Office. 

Following is a list of graduates arranged by county of residence.
ANDERSON COUNTY: Denton Bennett, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Police Department; Dustin Henderson, Rocky Top, Rocky Top Police Department.
DAVIDSON COUNTY: Jaden Tucker of Madison, Goodlettsville Police Department.
GREENE COUNTY: Tanner Cheek, Greeneville, Greeneville Police Department; Dallas Moore, Greeneville, student.
HAMBLEN COUNTY: Kenneth Davis, Ashley Whitt, both of Morristown, both Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office; McKenzie Penny, Ethan Sabo, both of Morristown, both Morristown Police Department
HAWKINS COUNTY: Daniel Cesarz, Rogersville, Mt. Carmel Police Department; Douglas Horton, Stefan Shively, both of Surgoinsville and both, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office.
JEFFERSON COUNTY: Kendale Ball, Cocke County Sheriff’s Office; Timothy Loyd, White Pine, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. 
LAWRENCE COUNTY: Trayce Rinehart, Westpoint, Waynesboro Police Department.
LEWIS COUNTY: Michael Lomax, Ethan Staggs, both of Hohenwald and both Hohenwald Police Department. 
MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Dawson Darnell, Nicholas Domingos, Nathaniel Elliott, Daniel Riley, all of Clarksville and all with the Clarksville Police Department; Alexandra Armey of Clarksville, Robertson County Sheriff’s Office; Micheal Massiah, Clarksville, student.
ROBERTSON COUNTY: Tristan Leopold, Greenbrier, Goodlettsville Police Department; Brittney Harrison, Springfield, Goodlettsville Police Department; Austin Zumbroegel, White House, Goodlettsville Police Department.
SEVIER COUNTY: Zachary Hancock, Kodak, Sevierville Police Department; Noah Bettis, Margaret Hardison, both of Sevierville, both Sevier County Sheriff’s Office; Natalia Borozdina, Katherine Davis, both of Sevierville, both Sevierville Police Department. 
SULLIVAN COUNTY: Logan Harter, Graham Quint, Jedidiah Rope, all of Kingsport and all Johnson City Police Department; Bart Hutton, Kingsport, Kingsport Police Department; Jaylen Tyler, Mt. Carmel Police Department; Cody Heikkenen, Garett Larkins, Karolyn Nuhn, Trent Peters, all Kingsport and all Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.
SUMNER COUNTY: Frank Scalise, Hendersonville, Franklin Police Department.
WASHINGTON COUNTY: Abdalla Saleh, Johnson City, Johnson City Police Department; Jordan Candler, Johnson City, Northeast State Police Department; Emily Whitson, Jonesborough, Johnson City Police Department. 
WILSON COUNTY: Izhar Gomez Sanchez, Aaron Wharton, both of Mt Juliet, both Mt. Juliet Police Department.